1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a combined structure of a USB plug with a built-in card-reading slot, and more particular to a combined structure that permits a more convenient manufacturing and meets different needs for the patent application U.S. Pat. No. 7,575,481.
2. Description of the Related Art
Universal Serial Bus is referred to as USB. It was developed by some leading computer manufacturers such as Compaq, Intel, Microsoft, Digital Equipment, NEC, IBM and Northern Telecom.
USB connector is a standard connection interface. It unifies the various connectors of peripheral devices and acts like a “universal connector.” With the development of the electronics, communications and of digital electronics, no one will doubt the popularity and the importance of USB connector in our daily life.
As new digital products continue to be introduced in the market, memory cards in various specifications and capacities, such as Micro SD (a smaller memory card) and Mini SD (a bigger memory card) have been developed and are currently popular in the market. Due to the emergence of a memory card, a card reader is normally required and acts as an interface for the interconnection between the memory card and the host computer. It is common that the USB female connector in the host computer is employed for data transfer. However, the card readers currently in the market have a too large volume. Compared with a small memory card, the card reader not only occupies much space but also increases the inconvenience during the use.
According to the prior art (U.S. Pat. No. 7,575,481, disclosed by the applicant of the present invention), a USB plug with a built-in card-reading slot includes a metal housing meeting the specification of USB A-Type plug dimensions and an isolation substrate enclosed by the metal housing. The first surface has a first slot in electric connection to a USB female plug. The thickness of partial portion of the isolation substrate is less than 1.2 mm such that a second slot for the insertion of a thin-type Micro SD/T-Flash memory card is formed between the second surface and the second wall. Moreover, a plurality of metal terminals is positioned on the second surface for an electric connection to the memory card such that the second slot is formed as a thin-type card-reading slot for the Micro SD/T-Flash memory card. In addition, an indentation is formed at the tail of the second wall for the insertion of the protrusion of the Micro SD/T-Flash memory card such that the protrusion just fits into the indentation when the memory card is inserted into the second slot. Besides, the contour still meet the specification of the standard USB plug such that a normal USB operation won't be affected when the USB plug is attached to a terminal portion of an electronic product.
After release of the above-mentioned product, it obtained recognition and praise from the market. On the basis of the structure of a USB plug with a built-in card-reading slot, the applicant of the present invention have been devoted to the research and improvement of the product and tried to provide a variety of solutions to meet different needs in the electronic industry. The product will be more practical and convenient when the USB plug becomes a separate connecting element for an easy combination with circuit boards or electronic products with different functions.